A New Comrade
by collin395
Summary: Toph is a complex individual, with unique feelings. Not many understand her, and she isn't sure if she minds the fact. But will a new person in her life change that? Action/romance. Please read and review!
1. Introduction

Toph roughly tugged the comb through her pin straight raven hair. She had a hard enough time getting ready in the morning being blind, but with her hair a mess, and center of balance completely distorted from just waking up, it was nearly impossible. She fell back onto her king-sized bed, letting out a sigh of exasperation.

What's the point of even getting out of bed today? She thought to herself. To a certain extent, she was correct. After the war had ended, time seemed to slow down. Sure, there were many royal banquets, award ceremonies, and things to that extent by the dozen- and they were fun for her. She was able to see her best friends again, which meant the world to her. Katara, Aang, Zuko, Suki, and of course..Sokka. Although the legendary five were her best friends in the world, she always considered Sokka something more. Toph always knew her feelings toward him were different than those toward other boys, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She was a very closed individual, not easily read. Sometimes she herself couldn't figure out what was on her own mind. And as much as her friends would have liked to believe, they also did NOT know what was going through her complex mind. She had been through so much as a child, such as the utter rejection of her abilities from her parents, running away, and probably most importantly-her blindness. Being so young and dealing with so many obstacles, Toph learned the art of maturity rather quickly. She did so through her bending, learning discipline and how to stay calm in times of hardship. She was usually always the relaxed one during the adventures that Aang and the others shared.

Along with being calm, she didn't enjoy speaking about her she did not think of them often, they somehow managed to creep up and haunt her from the back of her mind. Toph not speaking of her emotions was something that the others, minus Katara, respected. Although well aware of Toph's emotional scarring, Katara did her best to squeeze as much information out of her as possible. If anything, Katara's feeble attempts made Toph want to not talk more, if that were even possible. Toph felt that if not during the right time, speaking about personal issues was a sign of weakness. The only time she could remember doing something along those lines was when her and Katara were fighting due to the fact that Toph had recently been dubbed "The Blind Bandit" after stealing a gigantic number of things while inside the Fire Nation. A fight ensued soon after, and according to Toph, Katara "overreacted". While it seemed the future between the two powerful benders was bleak, Sokka and Aang decided to take matters into their own hands. After many failed attempts, Sokka decided to sit his blind companion down and talk to her about what she was feeling. Toph explained the situation with a colourful image and beautiful emotion, and the conflict was later resolved.

The only reason she had spoken to Sokka about such a subject was because of the feelings she felt toward Sokka. She assumed that they weren't feelings of love or lust, but something different. But Toph had never felt those sort of feelings before, so she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But something about him made her feel safe. But those feelings were gone. They had to be. Toph shook her head, as if trying to rid her body of its confusion. She soon decided that as much as she didn't want to, she had to get out of the house for at least a few hours. If she didn't, her rich parents' servants would never leave her alone. After regaining her sense of balance, and about fifteen minutes of preparation(she never liked to spend much time getting ready) Toph was out the door ready to spend the day in the city of Ba Sing Se.


	2. A Close Encounter

Toph felt the slight breeze press against her air as she exited her home. She wondered what she could possibly do today. She usually just wandered around Ba Sing Se without a care in the world. Even before the war had ended she would have never really needed to worry about everything. As much as she did not like it, her parents had her living a very comfortable life. Even though they may not have showed it, her parents did truly care about Toph. They were overjoyed when she returned home after the war, not angry like Toph had imagined they would be. They accepted their young thirteen year old daughter back into their home with open arms. Toph was comforted by this fact as a child. It was normal to long for the acceptance of one's parents. But this was no longer the case. She was seventeen now, practically an adult! She could take care of herself, she helped the Avatar overcome one of the greatest threats the world had ever seen! She was the greatest Earthbender in the world, she needed to take care of herself, not be the burden of her parents.

_Maybe I could move in with Katara.. _she thought._ No, I can't. Her and Aang are living together, I'd be a burden._ Lost in thought, Toph wandered through the crowded streets of the city, narrowly avoiding incoming passerby's. Even though she was blind, she had no problem navigating the busy metropolis of Ba Sing Se. Occasionally she could sense people looking at her. Perhaps because they recognized her as the war hero she was, or maybe just a poor blind girl whom they thought was wandering the streets. Regardless, Toph couldn't stand it.

_Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm different from anyone else..Toph thought. Now being the world's best Earthbender on the other hand.. _Toph smirked at her own wittiness.

Bored of her usual route, Toph decided to take a bit of a different route than she normally did. She made her way through a back alley that she thought led to her favourite park. As she was trying to gain an idea of where she was, Toph felt a force moving toward her quickly with her seismic sense. She then heard a voice call out:

**"HEY! WATCH OUT!" **She quickly raised a wall of earth in front of her, and heard the object smack her near-concrete wall.

"What are you, blind! Get out of here!" The voice yelled almost desperately.

"Actually, ye-" Toph attempted to reply while swiftly dodging a stone.

She heard the sound of scuffling feet, and a loud grunt like someone had just gotten all of the air knocked out of them. A body hit the tough earth with a sickening thud, and Toph heard a slight moan. After assessing the situation, Toph had come to the conclusion that there were three men(not including the one on the ground) and two of them were attempting to fight the other.

**"WE. JUST. WANT. YOUR. MONEY." **One of the men shouted between Earthbending blasts.

"Well-" another voice started to say while being interrupted by flinging rocks. "That's just too bad!" He redirected an attack back at his opposition, knocking them both on the ground. He stomped the ground, sending his attackers flying through the air. With a series of loud crashes, the men landed about fifteen feet from where the altercation happened. They were unconscious, and most definitely out of the fight.

"Well, that was..entertaining.." the voice said clenching his jaw.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Me? Am I okay? Of course! Why would you even ask?" Toph spat.

"Just trying to be polite.." he retorted. He began to walk away, and Toph knew she had reacted to harshly. Trying to make up for it, she got his attention: "Hey!" she shouted, trying not to sound too hard.

"That..that was some pretty great Earthbending. You really gave those guys what was comin' to 'em!"

"Tha- You do what you have to when it comes down to it, I guess." He responded while turning around. "Your eyes-they're-you're.."

"Blind? Yeah. My name's To-"

"Toph Beifong!" he shouted. Regaining his composure, he continued: "You taught the Avatar how to Earthbend. You're..the greatest Earthbender in the world.." his voice trailed off.

Toph smirked slyly.

"Well, I wouldn't say the best in the world.." Toph said. "Actually, yes, I would!" Toph chuckled and the boy slightly smirked, then turned away to leave.

"But really," she continued, "from what I felt, you were really powerful. Winning a three on one fight? That takes skill, my friend."

"Well, thanks, Top-Miss Beifong." He responded.

"Ha! Who's that!" Toph said chuckling. "My name's Toph!" she said wiping a fake tear from her eye.

"Speaking of names, what's yours?"

"Lee. Lee Jun-Fan." he said slyly. Lee was a rather attractive male. He was relatively average in height, maybe a tad taller, but with very distinct facial features. His eyes were a deep blue, which were showed off well by his short hair which lay not over a quarter inch above his brow. He was very muscular, like many Earthbenders. Not necessarily bulky, but cut. His body was covered in tattoos. Mostly traditional art, the most prominent being a sun dragon that curled up and around his forearm.

Even though they had only just met, Toph knew that Lee was different. He was difficult to please and she knew this off the bat. Usually when people recognised her, she received nothing but praise. But with Lee it was different. Toph had always liked different. Toph looked up in Lee's general direction. She knew that he was looking directly into her eyes.

_Why am I nervous? _Toph almost shuddered. Rather than shake this experience off as nothing like she would've on her adventures with her friends, Toph knew this was different. She had aged, and her interest for the opposite sex had increased greatly. Katara and Suki had boyfriends, why shouldn't she? She didn't show any outward weakness toward him.

_I'm overthinking this_, Toph thought._ I'll ask him to go for a walk or something, we'll see how that goes._

"Do you wanna go f-" Toph began to say.

"Yeah." Lee interrupted with a slight grin. The two continued on their way together, neither knowing what the conversation would hold.


	3. Destiny

The two continued to walk throughout Ba Sing Se, holding casual conversation.

"So, would you like to get something to drink? Maybe some tea? Do you like tea?" Toph asked hurriedly. Lee glanced at the sun trying to judge the time.

"Tea would be nice. I know a shop not too far from here if you don't have anywhere particular you'd like go." Lee said cooly. The two kept their pace and continued forward until Lee stopped.

"Here it is. The Jasmine Dragon." Before them was an elegantly structured building. Two separate, broad stone steps led up to a neatly paved patio in front of the shop. Just before the cobbled path there was a large, rectangular fountain with a statue of an old war hero in the centre. Lee looked down the path and noticed just how beautiful the shop really was. Past the path Lee looked at the wonderfully crafted double door. At both sides of the door were large, round decorative windows. Located above the door was a black sign decorated with carefully applied golden letters to form the name of the shop, 茉莉龙. The sign was flanked by two slim, elegant golden dragons. A large copper flowerpot spored a neatly trimmed green bush that stood at each corner of the 's expression grew lighter, for she recognised the name. This was a tea shop she frequented quite often.

"I know The Jasmine Dragon!" Toph said excitedly.

"Of course you do!" Lee responded. "They serve the best tea in all of Ba Sing Se!" He smiled.

They entered, anxiously awaiting a long needed beverage.

"Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon." A waitress welcomed. "Please, take a seat wherever you may like, and we will be with you as soon as we can." Lee nodded to the woman, and Toph smiled accordingly. They sat at a table set for two, and began to converse once again.

"You do know who runs this shop, don't you?" Toph asked.

"No, I don't. I'd guess someone rather successful, though!" He smiled. "Who is it?" he asked.

"Ahhh, Miss Beifong!" a voice shouted blissfully. A large bearded man made his way down the dark green carpet, his bare feet touching the golden dragons that carefully embroidered into it. He was smiling mirthfully.

"Iroh!" Toph shouted, leaping from her chair. "I was hoping you'd be here today!"

"Of course! I'm here most everyday! It is so nice to see you!" Iroh shouted warmfully. He gave out a light-hearted chuckle and Toph joined him. The two embraced in a hug, both smiling like they had won the lottery. They broke apart, and Toph motioned to Lee.

"Iroh, this is my-uhm..This is Lee! He's an Earthbender that I just met!" she spattered out nervously

"Ah, how nice to meet you!" Iroh said in his sing-song voice.

"Lee, this is Iroh. Fire Lord Zuko's uncle. He helped us out a few times." Toph said while smiling to Iroh.

"It is an honour to meet someone that has done as much as good as you, sir." Lee responded.

"Oh, nonsense!" Iroh shouted. "Now you two enjoy your tea! It is my treat!"

"Thank you!" The two said in unison. "It's always great to see you, Iroh." Toph said. He smiled and nodded.

Toph began to sit down, but before she knew it, Lee's hand had extended and pulled out the chair for her.

"Thanks!" Toph said. She could feel herself blushing. She pulled her chair in and grabbed hold of her tea. She slowly began to drink, savoring every sip. Tea from The Jasmine Dragon was considered almost a delicacy in Ba Sing Se. Even with the shop being as busy as it always was, each cup of tea seemed to be individualized. It was definitely more than just hot leaf juice! Lee made his way to his side of the table and sat down as well. He drank, and while looking up he noticed Toph still blushing. He smirked and set his drink down.

"So, you never told me, where did you learn how to Earthbend the way you did earlier today?" Toph asked excitedly.

"Well, my grandfather was a great bender. When I was a child, he used to train his students in a private office and I'd watch. Guess I always remembered a decent amount." he responded.

"Well, why didn't you ever train with him? He seems like a gre-"

"Unfortunately, I never got the chance to." Lee's voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry, I..I didn't know.." Toph said while glancing downward.

"No, it's okay! He was a great bender-second to none! It's an honour on its own to share blood with such a great man." Lee looked away, knowing the conversation had perhaps gotten too serious.

The two began to partake in small talk, about the city, the weather, just little things. After a few minutes, Lee shifted in his seat.

"So," he said, "Finished with your tea?" Toph nodded and smiled. He exhaled. "I guess I should take you home, then?"

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea. My parents are probably freaking out right now wondering where I am. Parents, right?" Toph said sarcastically.

Lee scoffed. "Let's go," he said chuckling. He gently placed his hand on Toph's shoulder, guiding her out of the shop. Normally, Toph would have stopped anyone from doing this before they even tried. But this was different. It was something new. She blushed and continued walking.

"Do you even know where I live?" Toph asked somewhat condescendingly.

"That would be a little creepy, wouldn't it?" Lee said laughing. "I was hoping you'd at least tell me the general direction I'm supposed to be going in."

Toph let out a grin. They eventually made their way back to the Beifong residence just as the sun began to set. They faced each other.

"It was great spending the day with you, Lee. As much as I love watching fights, that one got better after it ended!" She chuckled.

"I am too. I never thought I'd meet the greatest Earthbender of all time! And who would've thought she'd be so cool!" Lee said in a playful tone.

"There you go!" Toph said laughing. "Do you maybe want to..uh, do you want to.." she trailed off.

"Do something soon?" Lee said, finishing her sentence.

"Yeah, that!" Toph said embarrassed.

"Sure, I'd like that." Lee stated confidently. "How about tomorrow I pick you up here, and we'll go to where I work? It won't be as boring as it sounds, I promise." he said emphasizing the word promise.

"Sounds great. How about 2 o'clock?"

"It's a date!" he said cooly with confidence.

Lee looked down at the small girl. Her raven hair shone with luxury. The wind slightly blew her bangs to the side, exposing more of her beautiful face. Everything about the moment was perfect to the both of them. Neither of the two had felt anything like they were feeling right then, it was too new, too different. They were the one's who used to be alone, the members of the group that were just known as the brawn. Not many had taken the opportunity to truly get to know them, even though they should have.

The sun slowly began to drip behind the giant walls, and the two new that the day was over. With a goodbye, Lee went off on his journey home unaccompanied, but smiling. Toph plopped on her bed, ignoring her parents questioning of where she had spent the day. There was only forward. The rocky Toph had begun to soften, and she was okay with it.


End file.
